Favorites Friday - Irish Soda Bread

This is a family favorite recipe that my mom passed down, but I believe it is originally from Betty Crocker.  It's pretty easy to throw a loaf together (and a double batch is just as easy), and doesn't take long since there is no rising time involved.  I think it is best the day after it is made, slathered with butter or margarine.  I like it best with raisins, and feel like it's missing something when I make it without them, but it's still delicious both ways.

Irish Soda Bread
Makes: 1 round loaf

Ingredients

• 3 T margarine or butter, softened
• 2 1/2 C all-purpose flour
• 2 T sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/3 C raisins (optional)
• 3/4 C buttermilk (I use Saco buttermilk powder)

Instructions
Mix dry ingredients together.
Cut margarine into dry ingredients.
Stir in raisins and enough buttermilk to make a soft dough.
Turn onto lightly floured surface; knead until smooth (1-2 minutes).
Shape into round loaf ~6-7" diameter.
Place on greased cookie sheet.
Cut an "X" on top, ~1/4" deep with floured knife.
Bake at 375F for about 35-45 minutes until golden brown.
Brush with margarine near the end of baking time, if desired.

Lisa's cheat: don't bother with the floured surface or cutting in "X"; just knead by hand in the mixing bowl for a few minutes, then form into a round shape on the pan as best as you can.  The dough will be sticky, so it won't look perfect.

Biscuits for Two

Ok, so the title is a bit misleading. I didn't make biscuits for two...I made biscuits for me. I decided to take the day off on Friday, so I slept in, and then thought about making a nice brunch. Biscuits sounded good...Really good. Ohhh, man... now I was craving some nice buttery homemade biscuits. But I didn't want to make a whole big batch that wouldn't all get eaten. Pinterest to the rescue! A quick search for "biscuits for two" (thinking this would also be handy in the future for me and the hubby) led me to this recipe: http://www.branappetit.com/2012/07/11/lazy-biscuits-for-two/  Looks good... and easy... and I have all the ingredients... score! 

It only took a few minutes to get them into the oven, and while they baked I whipped up some scrambled eggs with bacon and cheese.  I was so excited about my delicious brunch, that I forgot to take a picture for the blog until I had already started eating.  

They were delicious for something so easy!  I did forget that I was using a dark pan, so I didn't adjust the temperature and the bottoms came out a little burnt.  I also put a dab of margarine on top to melt over the biscuits as soon as they came out of the oven.

Here is the recipe, from Bran Appetit:

Round 2:

These were so good, I decided to make them again on Sunday morning!  This time, I remembered to use a lighter pan so the bottoms wouldn't burn.

By the way, whenever a recipe calls for buttermilk, I like to use buttermilk powder to mix my own.  I keep this can in the fridge, and use it as needed...no need to buy a whole jug of buttermilk that will just go to waste!

The first time I make the recipe, I didn't need all of the buttermilk.  So this time I added 1T buttermilk powder (makes 1/4C buttermilk) to the dry mix, and then added 1/4C milk later.  This time, for some reason, it needed the whole 3/4C of liquid.  However, I still had flour leftover in the bowl I used to coat the biscuits at the end, even after using it to make 2 batches.  So the amount of flour used for coating can be cut back.

Not burnt biscuits!  Unfortunately, this time they were a bit undercooked in the middle.  Perhaps a little longer in the oven would have helped, but they are kind of large biscuits, so maybe they need to be made smaller or flattened slightly to thoroughly cook in the middle.  I also dabbed a little margarine on top a few times near the end of the baking time.  Despite being slightly undercooked, they were still yummy! 

Perhaps it takes time and practice to be able to make the perfect biscuit, but as a novice biscuit-maker, these came out pretty darn good!  I will definitely be keeping this recipe for future use.  :-)